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Posted on 08/19/2007 11:08:17 AM PDT by Terriergal
By Isadora Vail
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, August 17, 2007
A longtime Round Rock pastor was arrested after telling authorities he embezzled at least $500,000 from his church, according to court records.
Donald "Roddy" Clyde, 48, turned himself in to authorities Wednesday and was charged with felony theft of more than $200,000 from the Fellowship at Forest Creek Church. Clyde's bail was set at $400,000, and he could face 99 years in prison if convicted.
Clyde told police that he used the church's bank account and credit card to buy land, horses, vacations and other property, according to his arrest affidavit.
Lawrence Swicegood, a church spokesman, said a private investigation is under way to determine how long the church has been missing money and how much might have been taken.
Swicegood said a church accountant noticed some strange charges on the church credit card and bank account about three weeks ago. The church's leadership team then began to look at the receipts and charges, he said. Police interviewed Clyde about the charges Monday, and he stepped down that day.
"The church has always been about the people and not about one individual," Swicegood said of the 1,500-member congregation. "We are greatly saddened that our pastor had to resign, but we are pulling together to meet the needs of the community and the church."
Clyde's home in Round Rock's Forest Ridge subdivision is valued at about $350,000, according to the Williamson County appraisal district, and he also owns land in Taylor.
Glenn Hamilton, a church member, said the congregation's feelings about Clyde, who had been at the church since 1992, are divided.
"There are people that, despite what he's admitted to, don't want to go on without him, and then there are those that feel betrayed," Hamilton said.
An Austin fraud specialist said that Clyde could have stolen more than the $500,000 he reportedly admitted to taking.
"If he's saying $500,000, in my experience, I would look for a lot more because when perpetrators do estimate, it's always grossly underestimated," said Jim Ratley, president of Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
ivail@statesman.com; 246-005
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Find this article at: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/08/17/0817pastor.html |
yup. Way to win the ‘unchurched’ hey?
It’s probably in The Message by Eugene Peterson. ;-)
That mindset is ALL too common. I wonder how many will apply that mindset to this story here:
Sex offender back in pulpit
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1884184/posts
Awesome! I think ours is probably similar. It’s one of this group: www.AFLC.org but there are some among this denomination which are dabbling with PDC and Willow Creek. IT bothers me to no end. But there is good news from among the young seminarians (my husband’s two brothers, one who’se been a pastor for 7 years and one who is serving his internship this year) that they realize there is a problem with this and seem to have agreed to work against it. Good godly men.
heh heh heh. I suppose if he made up some outlandish story like “I sent it all to an orphanage in Uganda” they might believe him and forgive him.
yes, so many churches are not teaching people what they really need...”be still and know that I am God”. I know of two that are and people who practice their silent prayer become detached and free from the evil that goes through our minds. Take a look at fhu.com and bondinfo.org.
My hometown church (I left and have worked overseas for almost 30 years) is a southern church (Baptist). I was told by my brother on the last trip there...that the Deacons got dragged into a deal to hire a “Republican” minister...so they hired this guy to a 250-member congregation...but the deal was a four-year contract. About eight months into this contract...they find that he isn’t as Republican as they wanted...so they just wanted him to leave and they’d find another minister. Well...he pulled out the contract...and said they’d have to pay him off for leaving early (around $40,000). This dragged into a one-month stand-off where the lawyers finally told the Deacons that they were screwed.
So they took every penny left in the church account and they had to get pledges from 40 men in the group to cover the remaining costs involved. The pledges turned out to be “loans”...so as the new minister appears....the Deacons are desperate to double the crowd in the church and recover their $40,000. Adding to this misery...they are attempting to drag in a bunch of the over-60 crowd and talk to them about including the church in their will (no joke). They appeared at my dad’s house a month ago (he and my mom quit the church 20 years ago for ethics issues). The new minister and the Deacon with the guy....got into a big discussion and laid down the fact that my dad was going to hell for not attending their church...but they could set things right by attending and being “junior” members...thus working themselves up...cash payoff, you know. My dad is almost 80...and laid into these guys for being in league with a bunch of carpet-baggers. They didn’t take kindly to his words, and he told them they were welcome to leave his parlor at that point.
I would guess that half the churches in the US now...are morally bankrupt.
Exactly why a Baptist style church organization leads to problems.
I am glad to be Presbyterian. Everybody in the office is great, but my wife, who grew up Baptist, had nasty deacons all the way.
I don’t know what church you go to, but unless it is a megachurch, most church pastors only scrape by with 20 grand....maybe.
Calvinism is simply Scripture.
>> www.purposedriven.com
Thanks for the link.
I happened across the website for the church I attended as a child. I was puzzled that they had a “vision, mission, purpose” statement, thus embracing the same fad popular in the corporate world! Now I see what’s going on.
>> Which means I don’t want it in my church.
Amen! Don’t want, don’t NEED. from Matthew 16:
15He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
God’s word indeed stands alone in vision, mission, purpose.
Did I say “NO one who understands the gospel”? One who really understands the gospel has been regenerated, and isn’t *likely* to be embezzling. I made a statistical assertion which isn’t, I admit, likely to be proven, because it’s too hard to determine by a poll which people are real Christians and which are not.
Those who only know it in their head and belong to a church because it’s the thing to do or provides moral direction or accountability, those are the ones we see doing this stuff.
Again, I’m not saying that truly saved people never sin. I am certainly a case in point. I’m saying the incidence is likely lower for this kind of behavior among those who truly understand the gospel. The two statements are not the same.
And PDC (along with other church growth philosophies which are the same but don’t use the purpose driven name) paves the way for this kind of pastor-is-master behavior.
Interesting that you quote the great ‘christian’ mind A. Flew,
wait a minute... isn’t there a church heirarchy in the Roman Catholic church?
are you kidding? It isn’t the case in the E Covenant, I’m pretty sure.
OK then give me some clear teaching on Free Will.
The fact that he’s dishonest can’t be laid at Rick Warren’s feet, no matter how hard you try.
Have you read Bondage of the Will? Luther said that the issue of Free Will vs Bondage of the Will was THE ESSENCE of the Reformation.
Yeah, ours spent all his time micromanaging.
OK Fess up
What happened to the $5.00?? :>)
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